vote by ~gasoline-rainbow on deviantART
they say, opinions are like assholes,, and living in an area densely populated with political activists, as i do,, i cannot help but grow increasingly alarmed at the number of people willing to “drop the soap” when i say, that i will, once again, be exercising my right not to vote in the upcoming presidential election..
while many are quick to say that my stance is unamerican,, or that i am undermining the very constitution on which this country was founded,, few, if any, ever want to listen when i attempt to explain to them that my decision not to vote,, is just that.. a decision.. it is not because i do not care who runs the country to which i pledge my allegiance… it is not a byproduct of my lack of education.. it is not because i am too lazy to go to the polls.. it is not a result of my own ignorance when it comes to the election process… nor is it due to the fact that i am exempt from feeling the same gut wrenching need for change that the majority of you are experiencing…
but rather, it is because i believe i that have done my research and have come to a rather intelligent, informed, conclusion based on the facts that are available to me.. it is because the conclusion that i have come to makes sense to me… and it is for that reason, that i would like to share with you today,, my personal rational for having made a decision not to vote in this, or any other, presidential election…
let me begin by saying, it is not, in any way, my intention to pass judgment on those of you that have made the very important decision to vote.. i do not seek to belittle the process that you have gone through in selecting the candidate you feel is most qualified to assume the position of commander and chief of this country. i do not believe that my way of thinking is in any way, superior.. nor has it ever been my position to feel the necessity to convert anyone to my way of thinking….
that being said,, i would like to begin by saying that i find it particularly interesting that, whereas “The Constitution contains many phrases, clauses, and amendments detailing ways people cannot be denied the right to vote….. the Constitution never explicitly ensures the right to vote..” in addition, “No where in the Constitution, will you find any mention of how elections should be conducted.” and there is good reason for that.. you see eleven days prior to adopting the constitution, at a little get together called the Philadelphia Convention,, our forefathers approved the assignation of what has commonly come to be known as “the electoral college”.. the electoral college is a group of designated officials (in the state of California this group is made up of 2 senators and 53 members of the house of representatives, none of which, whose names i know) who’s task at hand is to put aside all personal agenda,, and cast a vote based solely on the number of votes placed by the citizenry in a presidential election..
so then, the founders of this country had already put a plan into action that would allow them the power to override the vote of the people, should it not coincide with their collective vision.. that in itself does not sit well with me.. add to that the fact that this system has failed time and time again to accurately reflect the votes as placed by, we, the citizens of this country,, (thus resulting in many states having to pass individual laws threating criminal prosecution, automatic resignation, and/or fines to be imposed upon those who fail to adhere to the guidelines,,) and i must confess,, i am left with very little reason to believe that my one vote is of any real consequence.
my feeling is,, if ever i should decide to vote, i would need to be convinced of the impeccability of the character of, not only the candidate that i deemed best suited for the office of the president,, but i would need to have blind faith in all (in my case since i live in CA ) 55 members of the electoral college.. i would need to trust implicitly that each and every one of them is above reproach.. i would have to believe that they had put aside their own careers,, their own political agendas,, their personal allegiances,, and voted totally and completely as a reflection of the number of votes that have been cast in their state,, and for whom… as much as i would like to believe that humans are basically good,, and will, if given the opportunity, do what they know to be right, simply because they know it to be right- in all honesty,, and if history is any indicator,, i cannot, in truth say, that i believe in the infallibility of even one man, let alone 538 popularly elected representatives…
secondly, and on a more personal note,, i (much like many of you) have had the opportunity to witness more than one election unfold. i have seen candidate after candidate renege on any and/or all campaign promises, on which they based their so called platform, once they were elected to office.. i have watched debate after debate degenerate into mud slinging competitions of embarrassing proportion.. i have looked on while candidates whom i am expected to endow with my trust, loyalty and support,, succumb to behaviors i would not find acceptable, in adolescents.. i have seen the evolution, through necessity, for fact finding organizations who’s sole purpose during the election campaigns is to gauge who is lying,, and about what,, and then supply us with the truth surrounding their numerous “misspeaks”….
i’m sorry,, i know i have said it numerous times before,, but i feel compelled to say it again.. i cannot reward bad behavior… i cannot cast a vote thereby giving my signature of approval to a system i believe to be irreparably flawed. i believe that doing so would signifying that i am in agreement with the way the system is functioning, and i cannot publicly pretend to believe in the cohesiveness of a system that privately, i believe to be very, very broken…..
October 17th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I totally agree. The only reason I am voting, is because I care about who becomes mayor of this Island, and who becomes the council member for my district. That’s it. As far as presidents are concerned, they are like baseball players; the wear different uniforms, but they all play ball. I’m not “feelin’ it” for either pres. candidate. If you don’t want to vote for whatever reason, then don’t. Nothing says you have to, and there is no certainty things will improve. Our future is in the hands of corporations, the federal reserve , and the G-whatever nations. And yeah, the death penalty should be abolished. That’s all folks. Thanks Paisley, for having the guts to come out on a public forum with an unpopular viewpoint.
October 17th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
The major shortcoming of the current system of electing the President is that presidential candidates concentrate their attention on a handful of closely divided “battleground” states. In 2004 two-thirds of the visits and money were focused in just six states; 88% on 9 states, and 99% of the money went to just 16 states. Two-thirds of the states and people were merely spectators to the presidential election. Candidates have no reason to poll, visit, advertise, organize, campaign, or worry about the voter concerns in states where they are safely ahead or hopelessly behind. The reason for this is the winner-take-all rule under which all of a state’s electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who gets the most votes in each separate state.
Another shortcoming of the current system is that a candidate can win the Presidency without winning the most popular votes nationwide. This has occurred in one of every 14 presidential elections.
In the past six decades, there have been six presidential elections in which a shift of a relatively small number of votes in one or two states would have elected (and, of course, in 2000, did elect) a presidential candidate who lost the popular vote nationwide.
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC).
Every vote would be politically relevant and equal in presidential elections.
The bill would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes—that is, enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538). When the bill comes into effect, all the electoral votes from those states would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC).
The National Popular Vote bill has passed 21 state legislative chambers, including one house in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, and Washington, and both houses in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The bill has been enacted by Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Maryland. These four states possess 50 electoral votes — 19% of the 270 necessary to bring the law into effect.
See http://www.NationalPopularVote.com
October 17th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Your suspicion of electors is unwarranted.
Questions about the possibility of faithless electors often stem from the incorrect assumption that presidential electors are a lofty group of independent-minded people who sit in judgment of the people’s choice for President, and then graciously accede to the people’s choice. It is true that the Founding Fathers envisioned, in 1789, that the presidential electors would be outstanding citizens who would meet and debate and exercise independent judgment in choosing the best person to become President. However, that expectation was dashed with the emergence of political parties in the nation’s first competitive presidential election in 1796. Since 1796, presidential electors have simply been willing “rubberstamps” for their party’s nominee for President.
There have been 22,000 electoral votes cast since presidential elections became competitive (in 1796), and only 10 have been cast for someone other than the candidate nominated by the elector’s own political party. The electors are dedicated party activists who meet briefly in mid-December to cast their totally predictable votes in accordance with their pre-announced pledges.
October 17th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
The Electoral College was put into place because the Forefathers were smart. They knew not to leave the imporantt decision of who would run the country in the hands of the dumb people’s popular vote. Technology may have advanced light-years, but the human condition, with fear, greed, insecurity and whos-popular-this-week mentality has not changed and the forefathers were knew it would not change. Besides the poplar vote and Electoral College have differed only a few times. Si’ ???
October 17th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I’m sending you two buttons to wear to the polls; that way when you go to vote; you’ll be told that you can’t vote due to display of the buttons- then you’ll have an excuse for the ass holes . . . .
PLL, CordieB
October 17th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
You are right when you say political systems are flawed…..but in the ‘democratic’ west, the alternative is scarier. In his later years, my father refused to vote too……..we argued long and hard, neither swaying the other. I vote for all the women who couldn’t. For all the people who can’t.
October 18th, 2008 at 1:37 am
In Australia it’s mandatory to vote so I’ve never really considered not voting. However, I do have to give you the nod for a very well-presented argument and I respect your decision not to vote. I think you probably speak for many people who feel uninspired by both candidates. I have often felt that there should be more than two people to choose from. Either one or the other really narrows the options. I do have a candidate I prefer and if I were a US citizen I would vote for him. I live in hope that he will live up to the expectations of his followers if he is successful. I hope that one day the voting system worldwide can be mended to accommodate the hopes, needs and dreams of all. That would be true democracy.
October 18th, 2008 at 5:55 am
The electoral college made no sense to me from the first day they taught about it in school. We are basically allowing them to decide for us, so why bother voting? Do we seriously think the majority of them care how we vote? I’m sure some do….
I voted once at 21, never again, so much information and misinformation out there, and even then, politicians were influenced to change their tunes later. This year, however, I registered to vote. If there is the slimmest chance the lesser of the possible evils is voted because someone listened I have to try. My instincts tell me it is important this time, they never have before.
Your reasons are well thought out. I understand, and if I truly saw it would help the situation by not voting, I would not. But I’ve not voted and the electoral college continued. It would take masses of humanity to make a difference… maybe that is what is needed.
October 18th, 2008 at 7:24 am
Too depressing to talk about…if they can get us out of the mess those intelligent folks got us into, I might be encouraged…the dumbing of America…I’m afraid they’ve succeeded…
October 18th, 2008 at 10:02 am
What we may need to put the best candidate into the Oval Office is, afterall, a litmus test of absolutely all, and I mean each and every voter, who enters a voting booth. Is the voter sufficiently knowledgeable of the qualifications, or lack of them, of the person he or she is endeavoring to make the president of the United States of America? I wonder how many voters would voluntarily excuse themselves? Perhaps the majority of us voters should.
October 18th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I totally understand and respect your position. xxoo
October 18th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
You’ve the right not to vote should you choose not to. No explanations should be needed. No one should have to defend why the choose to vote or not vote or who they choose to vote for. It’s each person’s decision.
October 18th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
You should not have to explain your position Jodi. I respect your freedom of choice and acknowledge our system’s flaws. I’m voting so I can feel free to bitch about my choices. lol
October 18th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Well, as I mentioned before, I wanted Hillary for President. I just felt she was most qualified. The reason I will be voting in this election boils down to one thing in me that just never seems to be squelched… Hope.
October 18th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
I agree with you whole heartedly. I live in Canada where an election just took place. The Winner was a person who some of us lovingly refer to as “Little Bush”. That aside it was one of the worst turnout at the polls ever. Why? Not because most of us don’t care about the issues that are confronting us today. Not because we are too lazy to go out and vote, but because we are tired of the talking out of both sides of their mouth and behaving like they were running for President of their Highschool. A wise Man once said that it is not a Democracy until “None of the Above” appears at the bottom of the ballot, if that were the case, I firmly believe that the lot of them would of had to pack their bags and leave the building. What’s the main function of a Politition? To get elected and once elected not do anything too stupid so they can be re-elected. You can bet your grandmothers teeth that none of them gives a fiddlers about You and Yours.
October 20th, 2008 at 8:51 am
paisley,
I agree with your assessment of the political environment we live in. I vote because I can when so many others in countries far more repressed than ours cannot. I vote because the founders of our country and the framers of our constitution wanted something they here -to- fore did not have under mother England: the right to choose, (if even between a group of unscrupulous humans) who would represent them. I vote because I want to preserve that system how ever flawed. I vote because my parents did and so that I can give my kids a chance to use the vote to make a better system for their generation. We each do what seems appropriate at the time for us and perhaps that is as it should be…or not.
rel